


Take me to my home (These tired eyes just want to remain closed)

by Desirexwolf



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Appendicitis, Fever, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Poor Peter Parker, Sick Peter Parker, Sickfic, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-02 08:14:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18807247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desirexwolf/pseuds/Desirexwolf
Summary: It is not uncommon for acute appendicitis to be confused with gastroenteritis, a common condition also known as stomach flu. So really, Tony can't blame himself for not immediately thinking the worst when the kid only has a light stomachache, right?





	1. Chapter 1

“You feeling alright there, kid?”

Peter looks up with an involuntary flinch and drops his hand from where he's been holding his stomach. “Huh?”, he asks, before giving Tony a wide smile. “Oh yeah, Mr. Stark, I'm fine! Just a little tired is all.” 

Normally, Peter wouldn't admit into being tired this easily, especially when he was spending the weekend at the Avengers facility, but the dull pain in his upper abdomen had caught him off guard. Tony narrowed his eyes at him.

“You don't have enough gray hair to be tired this early”, he reached over the table and ruffled Peters hair playfully. “You been out past your bedtime again?”

“No- No, I just, y'know, spider-manning and finals, it's all very... tiring.” he finishes lamely and drops his gaze when he immediately feels his cheeks heat up. Tony just makes an affirming noise, looking at the boy with fondness in his gaze.

Tony leans back in his chair, leaving whatever tech he has been meddling with on the table and stretches. “Well, maybe we should wrap up for tonight, what do you think?”, not expecting an answer, he addresses FRIDAY. “FRI, how's dinner looking? All done up there?”

“The pizza Captain Rogers ordered will arrive in approximately 3 minutes, Boss. I'd advise making your way upstairs if you and Mister Parker want to save yourself a slice.”

Tony claps his hands together and rises from his seat. “You heard the woman, kid. Let's move before these savages don't leave anything for us. You hungry?” 

“Always.” Peter lies as Mr Stark puts a hand on his back and steers him out of the lab. Especially with his metabolism he did feel hungry most of the time, but today his stomach just wasn't having it. At least the pain in his gut had quietened down for now, so he let Tony lead him into the common area.

The Avengers, minus Clint and Natasha who were on a mission for SHIELD and Thor who was in Asgard, were already gathered in the living room when they entered. Peter was used to the dozens of pizza cartons by now and usually one of the first to dig in, but today his stomach just gave an unsatisfied growl and he swallowed heavily.

Peter eventually settled for a piece of hawaii pizza and retreated on the couch next to Wanda. 

Over time he had gotten used to being around the Avengers, even though there was always this little part in the back of his head that went “Oh my god, it's the Avengers” when Thor gave him a pat on the back or Steve called him “son”. 

“What's with the spider-kid?”, Sam asks from across the room, throwing an empty water bottle in Peter's general direction. “Oi, Spiderbaby, you falling asleep on us?”

Tony looked up from his conversation with Bruce, frowning at the unusual quietness coming from his kid whose mouth usually ran a mile a minute. Now he was sitting hunched over on the couch, looking unusually pale and clammy. 

“Kid, you alright?” he asked and Peter looked up from his untouched piece of Pizza. 

“Huh? Uh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine”, he rubbed a hand over his eyes, placing his pizza on the table and his other arm came up to hold his stomach. “Just... Exhausted, I guess?” 

Tony frowned. “You sure? You want to turn in early?” 

Peter looked hesitant, but Wanda butted into the conversation. “You do look tired”, she decided, looking the boy over with observant eyes. “We can always postpone the movie to tomorrow?”

Fully expecting the kid to recline, Tony was more than surprised when Peter eventually did give a tired little nod and heaved himself up from the couch, leaving his barely touched pizza behind. 

He said goodnight to the team and shuffled out of the living room, Tony looking after him with a worried frown. The kid was always so eager to spend time at the compound, especially around the other Avengers, so for him to actually turn in this early was a little worrying.

Tony finished his pizza and the team slowly dispersed. He thought about going back into the lab, but eventually decided to turn in early as well after asking FRIDAY to check on the kid. 

 

Tony woke up three hours later to the voice of FRIDAY demanding his attention.  
“Is it Peter?” he asks, voice still rough with sleep as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

“Yes, boss.” she affirms and that's all it takes for Tony to hurry down the hall to Peter's room. The kid's not in bed, but the door to the bathroom is cracked and Tony turns on the light.

“Kid?” he opens the door to find Peter on the ground. He's hugging the toilet bowl, face only inches from the seat and his skin glistening with sweat under the bright bathroom light. Tony hurries across the room when Peter raises his head and turns to look at him with red-rimmed eyes. 

“Mr Stark?”, he mutters, blinking up at the older man crouching besides him. “What are you doin' here?” Peter splutters and Tony quickly guides his head back over the toilet bowl before Peter coughs and spits bile into the toilet. He quickly presses his palm to the kid's neck, then feels his forehead and his cheek with the back of his hand. 

“Well, you are definitely running a fever”, he asses, dropping his palm from Peter's face and letting his other hand rest on the kid's back. “FRIDAY told me you were in a bit of distress. By the way, FRI, you wanna get a reading on the kid's temp?” 

“Mr Parker's temperature reads approximately 100.7°Fahrenheit, boss”, she answered. “His symptoms are similar to those of a stomach bug.” 

Tony clicked his tongue and rubbed the kid's back. “Yeah, I'd say so too.” 

Peter let out a small groan, dropping his head over the bowl again. Tony felt his heart clench with sympathy and moved his hand up to the kid's neck, applying what he hoped was a comforting kind of pressure. 

“You want to move back to your room? Or stay here for another minute?” he asked.

“M'not sure”, Peter muttered, the hand that was not holding onto the toilet bowl coming up to cage his stomach. “Still feel really nauseous, y'know?”

Tony nodded and looked around the room for a solution that didn't involve being jammed into the comparatively small bathroom for the rest of the night while still kneading his fingers into the skin of Peter's neck in hopes of bringing some relieve to the kid.

“Tell you what, we move you back to bed and take a bucket, yeah? That way you don't have to get up if you need to hurl again.” he suggested and for a moment Peter looked like he might protest, but then he slumped down again and just nodded at his mentor.

Tony took this as his cue and heaved himself up on aching muscles to help Peter straighten up.  
He snuck an arm around the kid's torso and threw Peter's arm over his own shoulder. “Alright, up we go.” 

Tony helped Peter stand and waited for him to regain his balance before slowly shuffling towards the kid's room. Tony quickly took the waste bin from under the sink along and put it down next to the bed.

“Okay”, Tony sat Peter down on the bed and the kid clumsily climbed under the covers while Tony took a seat on the edge of the bed, a worried frown on his face. “There.”

In an automated action he brushed Peter's hair away from his face and felt his forehead again, letting out an unsatisfied hum.

“FRIDAY, can you take Peter's temperature again?”

A second passed before the AI answered. “His temperature is still at 100.7° Fahrenheit, boss. It hasn't changed since you last asked me 10 minutes ago.” 

Tony glared at the ceiling halfheartedly, but it brought him a small chuckle from Peter so he turned back to the kid with his hand still resting on his head. 

“It's alright, Mr Stark”, he muttered, eyes already fluttering shut again but his face still two shades too pale. “Probably just the pizza. I'll be fine tomorrow.”

“That's what you get for eating pineapple on pizza.” 

Peter snickered tiredly and Tony smirked at the teenage boy before running a hand through his hair a last time. “Night, Pete.” 

Tony thought he heard Peter hum an answer into his pillow, but was already closing the door to the bedroom and then retreated back to his own room. Hopefully his kid would be better in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Tony was making himself a cup of coffee when Steve and Sam came into the kitchen, sweaty and breathing hard from their morning run. 

Tony just rolled his eyes at them. Sam slumped onto the counter with his whole upper body, dropping his head onto the surface with a groan. He was obviously affected by their marathon a lot more than Steve was because the super soldier opened the fridge to peer inside like he didn't just run 30 miles in an hour. “You should try it sometime.”

Tony scoffed quietly into his coffee. “Yeah, no thanks. If I'm running, I'm running from something, not”, he made a vague gesture in their direction. “Whatever you're doing.”

Steve chuckled. “Point taken.”

He poured two glasses of orange juice and put one in front of Sam, who was still conking out on Tony's kitchen counter. Steve pat him on the back, sitting down on one of the stools.

“Is Peter alright?”, Steve asked. “He went to bed pretty early last night.”

Tony hummed, taking a sip of coffee. “He wasn't feeling good after dinner. I didn't have the chance to check on him yet, FRIDAY, the kid still asleep?”

“He isn't, however, I must inform you that Mr Parker's fever has risen significantly since last night.” 

Tony almost choked on his coffee and, with a curse, shoved his cup into Steve's chest before rushing past him, out of the kitchen and down the hall. “And you thought it was a good idea to keep that from me, why exactly?” he asked, anger and maybe even a tiny bit of worry leaking into his tone.

“You didn't ask to be informed about a possible rise in temperature, boss. Mr Parker has not yet requested your presence.” 

Tony would have argued further, but he had reached Peter's room and instead opened the door with a soft knock. 

The kid was still wrapped up in his covers, even paler than the night before except for a fever blush high on his cheeks. He was guarding his stomach with both hands, legs drawn up to his chest. Tony's eyes went wide at the sight.

“Hey, kid”, he said softly, approaching the bed. His hand found Peter's shoulder when the kid tried to sit up and gently pressed him back into the bed. “You feelin' worse?”

“A little.” he admitted and leaned into the touch when Tony moved his hand up to Peter's face, feeling his forehead.

“Damn, you're burning up, kid. FRIDAY?”

“Mr Parker's temperature has risen to 102.1° Fahrenheit. An internet search recommended fever reducers and Gatorade to replace lost electrolytes and keep him from dehydrating.” she answered while Tony ran his hand through Peter's sweaty hair, frowning down at the obviously miserable kid.

“Alright, Gatorade I can do. Meds on the other hand probably won't do much for enhanced spider-kids, you'd just burn through them”, Tony let his hand rest on the kids forehead in thought, grimacing at the heat he found there while stroking his thumb over the kid's temple. “What's hurting right now, kiddo?”

Peter glanced up at him, eyes glassy with fever. “Mostly my stomach.” he muttered, curling up more tightly under the blankets. 

“Worse than last night?”

Peter nodded into the pillow and Tony brushed his hair back with a sigh.

 

He left the kid to nap a little more to search for some Gatorade and make two pieces of toast in the kitchen. The sudden spike in temperature was worrying, but not out of the ordinary for a sudden burst of the stomach flu, so Tony solely focused on making the kid feel better instead of overthinking it.

He brought Peter three flavors of Gatorade to choose from and shared the toasts with him, so the kid would at least have something in his stomach despite the lack of appetite. 

But now that Peter was awake he was feeling too sick to fall back asleep, so Tony settled into the queen-sized bed to watch some old sitcom on a laptop with him. He was carrying the laptop on his knees, hand buried in the kid's curls when it wasn't resting on the too hot nape of his neck.

Peter was leaning into him, too miserable to do much else than wrap his arms around his stomach and sit through the waves of pain.

“You don't have to do this, y'know”, Peter mumbled halfway through the third episode, forehead pressed into Tony's shoulder. “Sit with me, I mean. You've got important things to do. Don't want you to catch this.” 

He was almost slurring at this point, face smushed against the fabric of his mentor's shirt and Tony cupped the back of his head. “Nah, don't rack your pretty little head about that. Besides, I've got a free day today.”

“Really?”

“Hmh.” Tony hummed, trying to subtly gauge Peter's temperature by feeling his neck. The kid didn't need to know that he told Pepper to hold off all calls and practically dodged an Avengers Meeting that morning to watch ALF with him. 

Peter's fever didn't seem to have gone up, so Tony moved his hand from his neck to run his fingers through the kid's hair again. “How you feeling, kid? Any better?”

“I-um”, Peter hesitated, pulling the blankets closer. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Nope, you hesitated. Not happening, Pete, I need you to tell me the truth. You feeling sick again?” he asked and Peter raised his head from Tony's shoulder to glance up at him, before looking back down.

“I guess. Not like I'll throw up again or anything, just... Queasy, I guess? And the pain in my stomach moved, so there's that.”

That made Tony perk up. “Moved how?”

“I don't know, it just moved to down here”, he gestured vaguely towards his lower abdomen and shrugged. “Kind of like really bad cramps or something.”

Tony furrowed his brows, eyes darting over the area Peter pointed to. “What, you on your period?” he joked faintly.

“Mr Stark..” Peter whined, burying his face in Tony's shirt again. The man chuckled lightly, but there was an worried frown gracing his features.

“We'll definitely keep an eye on that”, he rubbed an hand up and down Peter's arm. “I'll ask Bruce to take a look at you if it gets worse, alright?” 

Peter nodded and Tony started the next episode of ALF, moving into a more comfortable position so the kid could put his head on Tony's shoulder. He continued carding his hand through the kid's curls while Peter sluggishly commented on the alien trying to eat the family's cat before he nodded off, lightly snoring into Tony's shoulder.

Tony watched him for a few minutes, quietly asking FRIDAY for an update on Peter's temperature before leaning his head back against the headboard for a second. He could rest his eyes for just a second, because ultimately his kid was on the mend, right? 

But Tony must have fallen asleep after all, because a whimpering sound suddenly made him stir. 

“Mr Stark? Can- Can you like, wake up? Please?” The urgency and obvious pain in Peter's voice made Tony startle up immediately, Laptop slipping from his legs onto the bed as his eyes searched for the kid.

Peter was still in bed, but he was sitting up with an arm around his stomach, hunched over like he was feeling sick again. Tony scrambled up next to the kid, putting a hand on his warm back. “Kid? Hey, what's going on, you feeling sick?”

“My stomach just really hurts.” Peter said. His hand tightened protectively around his stomach and Tony saw the kid clench his jaw, scrunching his face up in pain. 

“Okay, kid, It's gonna be alright”, he rubbed the boy's back, feeling the wet material of his shirt, clammy and drenched with sweat. “FRIDAY, ask Bruce to come up here. Tell him it's a medical emergency.”

“Right away, boss.”


	3. Chapter 3

When Bruce finally arrived, Tony was still sitting next to Peter on the bed, one arm around the kid. Peter was still holding his stomach, curled in on himself in obvious pain.

“I told you before I'm not that kind of doctor.” Bruce said, but none less he was carrying a black medical bag and approached the pair with a worried frown. 

Tony made room for him on the bed, but left a comforting hand on Peter's shoulder. “You were in Calcutta.” he reminded Bruce.

“Yeah, well”, Bruce crouched down in front of Peter and took one wrist to measure his pulse. “Let's see if my medical knowledge extends far enough. What's hurting right now?”

The question was obviously directed at Peter, but the boy looked like even opening his mouth would wear him out, so Tony answered instead.

“He's had a stomachache since yesterday, but it got significantly worse just now. Said it moved to his abdomen. Vomiting and a fever as well.” 

Bruce dropped his wrist and started feeling along Peter's neck for swollen lymph nodes. “How high is the fever?”

“102.3° Fahrenheit, Dr. Banner.” FRIDAY answered. 

Tony's hand immediately went up to feel Peter's neck and he was met with a radiating heat coming from the boy's skin, slick with sweat.

“You said the pain moved?”, Bruce asked and glanced at Tony for confirmation. “Where did the pain start, Peter? And where is it now?”

The kid reluctantly loosed his hold around his stomach and moved a shaky hand to his upper abdomen. “Started here and...”, he pointed at his lower right side. “Went there.” 

Bruce looked up at Tony, the worry now prominent on his features, and Tony's heart jumped in his throat. 

“Alright, can you lay on your back for me? I'll just to do a quick exam.” 

Tony helped Peter lay back, moving blankets and pillows out of the way so he would lay on a flat surface. When he wanted to offer Peter his hand to hold onto, Bruce stopped him.

“I wouldn't do that right now.” he held his gaze for a moment and Tony eventually settled for running his hand through Peter's sweat-soaked curls instead. 

Bruce started palpating Peter's abdomen, going downwards from his upper left side and keeping a close eye on the kid's facial expression. When he couldn't provoke a reaction, he did the same on his other side and Peter visibly flinched under Tony's touch when Bruce reached his right lower quadrant.

Bruce's hands hovered over Peter's stomach for a moment. “Peter, I will push in now and I need you to let me know if you feel more pain when I push down or when I release, okay?” Peter went absolutely rigid, but nodded anyway. 

Tony crouched down next to the bed, one hand still tangled in the kid's hair and running his other up and down his arm in reassurance. 

Bruce pushed down on Peter's stomach and the kid's breath stocked, pain evident on his features. Tony glanced at Bruce, who was keeping a close eye on Peter's facial expression and abruptly pulled his hands back.

Peter lounged forward, letting out a suppressed yell. 

His hands immediately curled back around his abdomen, pulling his knees up to his chest again and he made a sound that sounded almost like a whimper. 

Horrified, Tony pulled the boy's head against his shoulder, whispering comforting words into his hear while Peter curled up against him.

“Tony”, he glanced up at Bruce, who was looking down at the boy with a concerned frown. “We should get him to the Medbay now. If this actually is appendicitis, we shouldn't waste more time than we have.” 

Tony felt his heart sink. Appendicitis. How did he not think of that sooner?

Suddenly, Peter let out a soft groan and Tony's attention immediately snapped back to the kid, still curled up miserably against Tony, face screwed up in agony. 

“Can I- Can I touch him?” Tony's hands hovered over Peter's body, not sure where to place them.

“Yeah, just try to be gentle.”

He couldn't be more gentle if he tried, lifting him up with one hand under his legs and the other behind his back, but Peter still flinched and Tony could see him bite his lip to stop himself from making a sound.

Involuntarily, Tony made a soft cooing noise, pulling the kid close to his chest. He met Bruce's eyes over Peters curls and nodded, telling him to lead the way.

 

Peter buried his head in Tony's neck while they made their way down to the Medbay, and Tony could feel the kid's skin burn hot against his own, breathing flat and labored and he tightened his hold.

Appendicitis wasn't something to tread lightly, a rupturing could lead to peritonitis and peritonitis was fatal if left untreated. He hadn't even considered for the kid to have anything worse than the stomach flu, even when Peter told him that the pain had shifted. If the kid ended up having to stay in the hospital even only one day longer than necessary it would be entirely Tony's fault and he already hated himself for it.

In the elevator, Bruce glanced over at his friend. “Stop that.”

“Huh?” Tony asked, eyes trained on the kid while he rubbed comforting circles into Peter's skin with his thumb.

“Especially in the first 24 hours, appendicitis is congruent with gastroenteritis. The stomach pain, the vomiting, the fever? It could have easily been the stomach flu as well, you had no way of knowing.” he reminded Tony softly. 

“He told me it shifted, Bruce”, Tony muttered. “And I didn't think anything of it. And now look where we are.”

“On our way to the Medbay, exactly where we would have been if you called me 2 hours ago. Peter's gonna be fine. You're no medical doctor, Tony.”

“Neither are you.” 

Bruce smirked lightly. “Well, I was in Calcutta, wasn't I?”

The elevator opened and Tony hurried out first, Bruce following close behind.   
Peter had turned his head at the conversation, but Tony had thought him too out of it to follow it until he muttered a bleary “Not yer fault, Mr Stark” into his shirt. 

Tony huffed lightly. This kid.

 

Apparently, Bruce had announced their arrival to medical, because there was an entire medical team on standby as soon as they reached the Medbay. 

Helen Cho herself took Peter from them and Tony gently went to place him on the gurney, but the kid was holding on to his mentor and actually let out a whimper at the sudden loss of contact. Tony's heart clenched and he immediately took Peter's hand in his own, running his other hand through his hair. 

“I'm right here, kiddo, it's alright. You're gonna be alright.” 

True to his words, Tony stayed with Peter through the sonography to confirm his diagnosis and held his hand while the doctors inserted an IV, all while he kept stroking his hair and muttering comforting words he wouldn't remember later. 

Not even half an hour later, they were prepping Peter for surgery. 

The kid was considerably calmer after he'd been given medication for the pain, but he could barely keep his eyes open even though he was making an remarkable effort. 

“It's alright, underoos”, he muttered, leaning over Peter so he would blend out the nurses running around them and keep the kid's eyes on him. He cupped Peter's face in his hand. “You go be lazy now, catch some shut-eye while Helen does her job, hm?”

“Hmm. You're stayin' with me, right?” Peter muttered, clearly out of it while he nuzzled into Tony's hand, blinking up t him owlishly. 

Tony's face softened into a smile. “Yeah, kiddo. Sure am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!   
> I'm open for prompts, so hit me up at my Tumblr. :)  
> https://desirexwolf.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> Talk to me on Tumblr, https://desirexwolf.tumblr.com/.


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